The KNOW-HUB project

KNOW-HUB bridges the gap of shortage of knowledge, skills and experience of European regions in designing and implementing smart and effective strategies for innovation. The practitioners from 10 EU regions will collaborate in reviewing their policies and practices to identify issues for improvement and good practices to share with others. They will learn together how to apply the knowledge and experience identified in the peer review process, and sharing this knowledge with the aid of modern knowledge management tools.

The Report analyses the state of cohesion of the Union and highlights the challenges faced by national, regional and local authorities in overcoming the impact of the financial and economic crisis. In particular it finds that Cohesion Policy has cushioned the dramatic decline of public investment, injecting much needed investment resources in many Member States and creating vital financial stability which serves to attract private investment.

Through Cohesion Policy funding, the EU invests approximately €50 billion each year in economic development at the national and regional level (around 34% of the total EU budget). These investments are designed to help Member States and regions reach the Europe 2020 goals of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.

On the 9th of July, during META Group's Innovation Lab, representatives from DG Regio, DG Competition and DG Research and Innovation presented an update on the situation of the legal and practical side of the new regulation on financial instruments.

Innovation Lessons From China - Foreign businesspeople complain that China doesn’t play fair. But anybody involved in international business should treat China not only as a place to sell but also as a place to learn.

This report of the Expert Group on Public Sector Innovation has shown that the public sector has be en fostering innovation in the private sector, from smaller innovations to more radical ones like railroads and the Internet. The public sector provides both funding to private companies and develops key technologies itself, like nanotechnology, by investing in the early stages of these technologies when uncertainties are too high for private companies.